'GO GARETH!'

KHAN TOGETHER

But moving the embassy, which Trump promised during his election campaign, would likely anger US allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

Washington relies on those countries for help in fighting ISIS, which the new president has said is a priority

But the White House on Sunday appeared to play down suggestions that a decision was imminent.

"We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

During his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Trump also stressed the need for direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

"The president emphasised that peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be negotiated directly between the two parties, and that the United States will work closely with Israel to make progress towards that goal," the White House said.

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The American embassy is currently in Tel Aviv but looks set to moveCredit: EPA

The US Congress passed a law in 1995 that described Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and said it should not be divided.

But successive Republican and Democratic presidents have used their foreign policy powers to maintain the US embassy in Tel Aviv and to back negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on the status of Jerusalem.

In early December, the then president, Barack Obama, renewed the presidential waiver until the beginning of June.

It is unclear whether Trump would be able to legally override that waiver and go ahead with the relocation of the embassy.

US diplomats say that despite the legislation, Washington’s foreign policy is in practice broadly aligned with that of the UN and other major powers, which do not view Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and do not recognise Israel’s annexation of Arab East Jerusalem after its capture in the 1967 Middle East war.

Israel approved building permits on Sunday for hundreds of homes in three East Jerusalem settlements in expectation that Trump will retreat from the previous administration’s criticism of such projects.

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